The King's Visit to Maynooth College

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXI, Issue 39, 24 September 1903, Page 6

The King's Visit to Maynooth College

*i\ L ?? ? * er r ? ason (says the ' Irish Weekly,' July SI) than that for the first time in the history of May- ?°°, \ a . u head of the Briti sh lEmpire has vouchsafed to Ireland the favor of visiting the centre of her Catholic life the year 1903 will remain in the memories of Irish Catholics an auspicious one. On Friday King Edward and his gracious Queen proceeded in State to the famous ecclesiastical college to accord their Royal recognition and greeting to the Church of which the overwhelming bulk of the Irish race are loyal and devoted children. With that courtesy and tact which distinguish him beyond many of his predecessors on the English throne, his Majesty sought to manifest more clearly his respect for the creed which has supported Ireland through -many a struggle by ordaining that his suite snou-ld invest^ themselves in mourning apparel for the occasion, and" that part of the Royal State in which he usually travels should be dispensed with. Her Majesty the Queen also, in kindly consideration for the grief of the Irish people at the loss of their beloved Pope, was attired in black. The great heart of the Celt will respond to these evidences of their Majesties' wish to place themselves in harmony with the gloom which the know>dge that the Vicar of Christ on earth lies dead in St. Peter's has disseminated over every Catholic home in the land. Their Majesties were received at Maynooth with unmistakable cordiality. Their Graces the Archbishops of Dublin, Cashel, and Tuam, at the head of most of the Irish hierarchy, accorded a dignified welcome to their Royal visitors ; and the noble institution which has given forth so many patriotic Irish priests was fittingly prepared for their reception. The address was couched in terms which will be endorsed by every Catholic who appreciates the courtesy to his Church and its heads which their Majesties have consistently displayed since they set foot on these shores. It expressed the pleasure which the Irish hierarchy felt at having an opportunity of testifying in person their sense of the sympathy which their Majesties have exhibited regarding the situation in which the Irish people at present find themselves placed. Their Lordships declared their especial gratitude at the usit paid by the King to the illustrious Pontiff Leo XIII., and the emotion aroused in their breasts by the words of condolence which their Majesties have joined in giving utterance to in respect to the death of his Holiness. In reply, the King reminded his hosts of his visit as prince to the National Ecclesiastical College of Ireland, and assured their Lordships that event had left pleasant memories with him. After paying tribute to the renown of Maynooth as the Alma jViater of many ( devoted men,' laboring in the sacred duties of the ministry in every part of the English-speaking world, his Majesty testified his gratification at the true appreciation which not alone ..the hierarchy, but the Irish race in general, entertain of his feeling towards them. He passed on to words of thanks for the services which have been rendered to his Empire by many sons of the Irish soil, and to declare the esteem in which he holds the ' admirable gifts of mind and heart ' of which he considers his Irish subjects are possessed. His Majesty's words regarding his personal relations with our late Pope will be read with mingled feelings of pleasure and sadness, manifesting as they do the lively sense of sorrow that must animate him when he recalls the sweetness and affectionate warmth with which his Holiness greeted him on his visit of respect to the Vatican. His Majesty has done much since his arrival in this country to ingratiate himself with us in Ireland. It is a source of inestimable pleasure to us that by his kindness, his delicacy, and his true sense of our position, expressed in all the words and acts which have proceeded from him and his amiable Consort, he has earned all the warmth which the Irish people are infusing into their welcome. This additional proof of his friendly feeling towards the Catholics of his kingdom will not soon be forgotten.